Homegrown Future - Tackling Food Security & Water Security In The Middle East

How can we sustainably tackle regional food security and water security challenges in the Middle East? Solutions to large-scale systemic problems can take years. What can we do today? What do the long-term solutions look like?

Container Farms - The Leafy Green Machine

Container Farms are plug-and-play systems that can prove that hydroponic technology works. It is a small-scale solution that can familiarise farmers and consumers with the health and environmental benefits of hydroponic farming.

We use farms built within recycled shipping containers. These insulated containers are equipped with hydroponic systems that enable us to grow 1.5 acres worth of produce inside one 40ft container using less than 40L of water per day. Controlled-environment agriculture (CEA) enables us to shorten the growing cycle. Automated nutrient delivery systems and smart technology takes the guesswork out of farming by allowing you to monitor and control growing conditions (e.g. temperature, CO2 levels) via an app.

While one container farm can not make a nationally significant impact, their modular nature allows immediate deployment, installation, and scaling capabilities. Interested to learn more about container farms? Click here to read about what you can grow and how you can join the hydroponic revolution!

Automated Farm Factories - TechnoFarm

While we build our network of container farms, we are also developing an automated farm factory with large-scale capacity (over 3 tonnes / day). Automated farm factories are sustainable because they use less than 1% of water and land resources compared to traditional outdoor farming. A Japanese study suggests that hydroponic lettuce grown within a farm factory is healthier because it had 10 times more beta-carotene per 100g than traditionally grown lettuce. Best of all, hydroponic produce does not need to be sprayed withharmful chemicals such as pesticides since it does not come into contact with soil.

Farms factories provide a national-level solution. They will enable us to leap toward achieving food and water security. Over time, we will diversity from leafy greens to berries and legumes as we seek to cover the complete nutritional profile.

What're your thoughts about food security, water security, and the future of agriculture?